Aaron Judge walloped his 56th home run, followed immediately by the obligatory “M-V-P” chants, if only mildly and briefly this time.
No one needs convincing anymore. That individual race is decided now.
Royals wunderkind shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is a terrific all-around player. But Judge is putting together an all-time season.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, while mentioning that other guys are having “unbelievable” years, correctly pointed out Judge is “another level.” Those other unmentioned guys — presumably Witt Jr. and Judge’s teammate Juan Soto — are MVP worthy with their numbers in another year, but this year Judge is again racking him numbers like a video game champion.
Over the last half century, the only player to post a higher OPS plus than Judge’s 221 heading into Tuesday is Barry Bonds, and his medicinal forays took him to another planet.
Anyway, the MVP derby isn’t what’s concerning us at the moment.
The AL East race, very close to decided, as well, lives another day. The Orioles delayed the inevitable with their 5-3 victory at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees’ magic number remains one.
Truth be told, that’s really over, too, though technically not just yet. That isn’t the competition that matters, either.
MVPs are wonderful, division titles are nice. But the real goal remains the whole enchilada, which seems well within their reach this time.
Some years it’s OK to fall a round or two short. Not this year, not the way they are playing, the way they are set up, and not the way they are feeling physically.
Not this year, not the way the rest of the league looks.
These Orioles are missing four starting pitchers, including rotation men 2A (Grayson Rodriguez) and 2B (Kyle Bradish).
The Guardians are a nice story, but they have about one-third the payroll.
Even the amazing Astros are a little down this year. They do have the nucleus and the know-how.
But no one should beat the Yankees this time. They look primed to get to the World Series after missing it 14 straight seasons. Boone said he loves his team’s focus, its resolve and its “wholeness,” which is apparently manager speak for having the entire roster sound enough to perform. That is a luxury today.
The complete health report could be summarized in a paragraph. The one player on it, Kirk’s cousin Jake Cousins, received “encouraging news” on his pec strain, so if he returns, the only thing to worry about will be meeting expectations — which are about as high as they’ve been in a decade and a half.
To have a $311 million payroll is one thing. To have a $311 million payroll completely ready to go is something else entirely. Peaking is great, but being in the peak of health separates them from the rest of the American League.
“Over the years we’ve been hit by the injury bug at the worst times,” Judge said.
Not this time.
Noting all the guys who’ve returned healthy in recent days, Judge added, “That’s all we’re looking for heading into October, to have this lineup, to have this team, and be in a good spot.”
They look strong. But is this team perfect? No, it’s not the 1998 Yankees.
Gleyber Torres can really hit. But he needs a compass on the basepaths. As the potential tying run, Torres got himself in a rundown between third and home, marking the MLB-leading sixth time he was thrown out trying for home, via YES Network. Judge suggested it was a bit of “miscommunication, but he also said, “We can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Things aren’t quite perfect. Alex Verdugo remains a semi-regular even as his funk worsens. If Boone is trying to make a playoff case for Verdugo, it isn’t working. Anthony Rizzo isn’t quite what he was. And Anthony Volpe, at least offensively, isn’t yet what he was supposed to be.
The team had some downs to go with mostly ups. It played .500 ball for about half a season after its big start.
For a while, it looked the Yankees were getting by with a two-man offense, which isn’t so terrible when Soto and Judge are the two men. But lately it looks more like a six-man lineup, which works because it includes the two best hitters in the league (that’s fact, not opinion; check the stats).
For a good long while it looked like they were in serious need of some strikeout artists in a bullpen that was leaking gas rather than throwing it. That’s turned around in a hurry.
Ian Hamilton has allowed no runs over five outings, Tommy Kahnle over six and Tim Hill over seven. Luke Weaver, the new featured player, seems more dominant each time. Not enough swing-and-miss, you say? Weaver has 22 strikeouts over his last 10 innings.
This is a team without serious injuries, or real issues.
This is a Yankees team doing some good stuff and winning some nice, noteworthy hardware. But this is a Yankees team that’s aiming higher. This a Yankees team that should do more.
